Ritblat sells Haslemere stake

JOHN Ritblat, head of the property group British Land, has entered into a deal to sell his stake in Haslemere, which could net him £32m profit.

Haslemere, an Anglo-Dutch property company, announced on Tuesday that it

had received a takeover offer valuing it

at £898m.

Yesterday, the shares fell 12.5 to £39.12.5. They had previously risen on speculation of a bid. Mr Ritblat said he had entered into a put-and-call option on his 2.39m shares with an unnamed party. The option to sell the shares expires next Wednesday.

The move follows speculation on whether Mr Ritblat, who owns 10pc of the shares, would support the recommended offer from an Israel-based consortium. It is valued at 3pc below the value if Haslemere was broken up.

Chris Bartram, managing director, and his fellow directors have been asked to stay on if the bid is successful. They will not receive any incentive package for doing so.